DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY—Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG says it has officially started its preparation for the upcoming Drupa 2004 trade fair. According to the press manufacturer, it traveled to the Messe Düsseldorf fairgrounds with more than 930 tons of luggage!

The run up to one of the most labor-intensive product shows in the world has officially started, with Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG beginning its construction preparations for Drupa 2004 [mid-March].

The world's largest trade show for the printing and paper industry—Drupa—takes place from May 6 through 19, 2004, in Düsseldorf. Heidelberg will be exhibiting a range of innovative solutions for the print media industry at its 7,800 m2 booth.

But in the meantime, the enormous freight vehicles coming and going mean there will never be a dull moment in and around Düsseldorf over the next few weeks.

A Drupa Hallmark Heidelberg says it will be presenting 50 machines with lengths of up to 33 meters on an area, which is almost the same size as a soccer field. Until then, technical manager of Heidelberg's trade show presence, Franz Haaf, certainly will have his work cut out for him.

"First of all, we have to make sure the appropriate infrastructure is in place," explains Haaf. "This includes laying electrical, network and telephone cables, along with cooling water pipes, water supply points, and compressed air supply lines. And only when this preparatory work has been completed will we be installing and integrating the Heidelberg machines in Düsseldorf . This will begin in mid-March and will require assistance from over 100 qualified technicians from a total of ten different sites," adds Haaf.

In addition to assembling the machines, the booth also has to be constructed. Almost 2,500 spotlights, 350 computers, and 18 kilometers of electrical cable are ready and waiting to be put in place.

Everything should be built by the beginning of April, which is when Heidelberg wants to begin configuring and testing its machines on site. Up to then, however, Haaf and his team expect to have their hands full.

Haaf and his technicians have to set up 50 machines in halls 1 and 2. "Some machines can only be assembled using heavy lift cranes which, given the limited space, should prove to be quite a challenge for us," explains Haaf.

The M 600 web offset press alone highlights the enormity of this challenge. The press, which can print up to 70,000 copies per hour in top quality, was recently dismantled at Heidelberg's Montataire plant in France. It will be the largest press that Heidelberg will present to the 400,000 or so visitors expected at its booth in May.

Haaf requires an area of 600m2 just to unpack this press. "We need so much space so that we can lay out all the large, heavy individual parts in an orderly fashion before we begin assembling it," he says. "For example, the four double-printing units each weigh 12 tons, and the printing towers stand up to 2.5 meters tall." So it comes as no surprise that Haaf is allowing 20 days to erect the 110-ton M 600 press.

Assembling the Speedmaster SM 102-10 sheetfed offset press with Cutstar will keep Haaf's team busy for at least two weeks too. The press measures almost 22 meters long in the Drupa specification and, including peripherals, more than five meters wide. A total of six freight trucks will be required just to transport the Speedmaster, which was dismantled at the Wiesloch plant in recent weeks.

Heidelberg's international sites have been heavily involved in preparations for Drupa 2004—dismantling machines, preparing them for dispatch and organizing delivery are all tasks that have to be carried out so that exhibits can be presented at Drupa.

The PCF3 folder, standing at a height of six meters, is even being shipped from overseas, along with various other machines.

Several dozen freight carriers will transport these printing presses by sea and road to the trade show halls on the banks of the Rhine. So there will certainly be a lot of activity in Düsseldorf and the surrounding area over the coming weeks.

Assembly dates for machines mentioned above:

March 15: M 600 (from France)

March 22: Speedmaster SM 102-10 with Cutstar

March 28: PCF3 folder (from the USA)

Logistics of the Drupa booth construction:

General info:

More than 300 deliveries each weighing at least 3.5 tons

More than 120 40-ton freight vehicles will be used—15 heavy lift cranes, each weighing between 35 and 100 tons

Installations and booth construction:

7,800 m2 exhibition space with over 50 exhibits

325 tons of material for the booth: wood, steel, attachments, paint

8 megawatts of power required for the trade show booth, assuming all the machines are running at the same time (equivalent to the electrical consumption of 2,000 households in a year)